GrameenPhone is the largest mobile phone
company in Bangladesh. In the midst of lack of communication means, GrameenPhone
has introduced an effective and user-friendly mobile phone network. It has put a
positive impact on the lifestyle of the people of Bangladesh.
Ownership:
Telenor owns 51% of GP. It is the state-owned telecommunication company in Norway operating since 1885. It is amongst the oldest, most sophisticated, and diversified telecom companies in the world. The company has a long history of successful cooperation with other operators and governments in and out of Norway. Telenor's home base, Norway, has the highest density of mobile phones in the world and one of the most competitive markets in the field. Telenor has been playing a pioneering role in the development of GSM, one the latest and most successful versions of cellular technologies.
Grameen Telecom the second largest shareholder owning 35% of GP, has been established by Grameen Bank, which believes that a lack of communication facilities in the rural areas is one of the major obstacles to rapid economic development in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Grameen Telecom's deep understanding of the people and culture of Bangladesh helps GP to build up convenient and cost-effective communication facilities in the rural areas, which in turn, create more jobs and open up business opportunities there.
Marubeni Corporation is one of the largest general trading and investment companies in Japan. The company has a global business network that oversees a number of operations ranging from domestic export and import to offshore trade and retail marketing of finished products. Marubeni invests in manufacturing facilities and infrastructure projects, including in the telecommunications sector. The company owns 9.5% of GP.
Gonofone Development Corp. which owns 4.5% of GP, is a telecommunications development company based in New York.
In addition, three leading international financial institutions-- the International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank and the Commonwealth Development Corporation -- are also shareholders of GrameenPhone. The three organizations each hold three per cent of preferred shares of GrameenPhone.
Network
With the initiative of GrameenPhone, mobile phones are spreading rapidly throughout the country.
A huge portion of Bangladesh is under GrameenPhone's coverage now. Today, more than one in three telephones in Dhaka and Chittagong are mobiles.
GrameenPhone's network is divided into six zones according to the divisional borders: Dhaka Zone, Chittagong Zone, Khulna Zone, Sylhet Zone, Barisal Zone and Rajshahi Zone. Currently GP is operating in all six zones.
The zone in which a subscriber is registered with GrameenPhone is that subscriber's Home Zone, and all other zones are Remote Zones.
Products:
Under Post Paid Service there are two products
GP-GP Regular
GP-GP Regular connects to all GrameenPhone mobiles and to other mobiles, subject to interconnection agreement with other mobile operators, within GrameenPhone's coverage area. This product has a credit limit of Tk. 1000 on airtime usage without any security deposit. There is no incoming charge.
GP-GP National
GP-GP National is another addition of post-paid products of GrameenPhone. This phone can connect all mobiles within the home zone and all GP mobiles throughout GP's coverage area. It has National Roaming facility and a flat rate airtime charge of Tk. 6 (+Tax) per minute for all calls to anywhere within GP's coverage.
The GP-GP Regular and National subscribers enjoy a number of GSM Features and Value Added Services (VAS):
Subscribers' Facilities:
GrameenPhone subscribers enjoy the following GSM features without bearing any additional costs:
Caller ID: Display of the phone number of an incoming call in your handset before the call is answered
Call Waiting: While talking to the first caller, you will hear a special tone informing you about the second call on the line. At that moment you can put the first caller on hold and talk to the second caller.
Call Conference: Receiving calls from multiple callers can be supplemented by joining these multiple callers so as to enable them to talk to each other. You will be able to communicate with a group consisting of maximum five callers.
Call Divert: Call Divert lets you redirect or re-route your call to another GrameenPhone mobile or any other fixed (if you have BTTB connectivity) or mobile phone.
Call Barring: Enables you to restrict certain types of calls to be made from your mobile. This feature is especially important for security purposes.
Value Added Services
The following additional services are available upon request:
Voice Mail Service (VMS)
* VMS is a unique answering machine.
* It provides you with a personal electronic mail box in our voice mail center.
* It records your personalized greetings as well as stores your incoming voice messages.
* It records incoming voice messages if you are:
= Outside GP's coverage area or
= Busy or
= Simply switched off your mobile.
* It provides 24-hour automatic secretarial service
* Makes you available to your calling party anytime
Short Message Service (SMS)
* SMS in your mobile acts like an advanced pager.
* You can send and receive text messages of up to 160 characters, directly from one GP mobile to another GP mobile.
Fax and Data Service (currently available only to corporate clients):
* You can use your mobile phone attached to a computer to send faxes or transfer data.
* No need to have connection with a fixed line.
* You can use this service even when you are on the move within GP's coverage area.
Pre-Paid Service
Introduction of GrameenPhone's new EASY Pre-Paid Service is another development of mobile telephony in Bangladesh. EASY has National Roaming facility and a flat airtime charge of Tk. 6 per minute. There is no incoming charge.
This service helps the subscriber to control costs. It frees the subscriber from the hassles of paying bills, security deposits and line rents. But it contains nearly all services available in other GP products. Subscribers can subscribe the service from all GP authorized points of sale.
To start with, one have to buy the EASY Starter Kit and a handset. The Starter kit contains a pre-activated SIM card and a Green EASY card. The Starter kit costs Tk. 1,675, the Green EASY card worth of Tk. 300 is provided free.
EASY features:
* No Monthly Bills
* Flat rate of 6 Taka per minute
* No Security Deposits
* No Monthly Access Fees
* No Waiting for Activation
* Instant Connection
* EASY Voice Mail Service, free of monthly rents
* EASY Cards of Four Different Values and Colors
* National Roaming Facility
* GSM Features like Caller ID and Call Divert to Voice Mail Service
